my kitchen so this happened

so this happened: vol. 7, thanksgiving edition

December 4, 2014

Alright… barely relevant at this point. But here’s my play-by-play of this past Thanksgiving. First I should mention the “heirloom” turkey I purchased from our local market. I won’t divulge the price, but he or she came with papers and lived a full and happy life, had a nice career, graduated with honors, etc. That’s all that matters.

IMG_9130

I thought about spatch-cocking this bird, but really… I don’t know. I like a traditional turkey–stuffing and all. This year I made a cornbread stuffing with portabellos and roasted peppers (gluten free).

IMG_9141

IMG_9142

After situating the turkey for a long journey in the oven, it was time to fuel up for the long haul: bloody mary’s.

IMG_9146

IMG_9148

Like most Americans, no Thanksgiving is complete without a green bean casserole. With each passing year I find it more and more difficult to succumb to can-of-anything. So, over the past few Thanksgivings I have come closer and closer to replicating this dish, sans canned goods, to near perfection. It’s usually close, but not exactly there. But I think I got it this year. By the way, this is probably the most time consuming recipe of all time.

IMG_9152

What I’ve learned in previous years is, forget frozen green beans. Get fresh green beans. What I’ve also learned is that before adding green beans to the cream of mushroom component one must first cook the green beans for almost 45 minutes. I sliced the green beans in my food processor and then added to a sauté pan with vegetable stock.

IMG_9154

While the green beans were cooking down, I made the cream of mushroom soup component. I sautéed mushrooms and onions in olive oil and eventually added vegetable stock.

IMG_9156

To thicken the mushroom soup I made a roux and then added about a half cup of 1/2 & 1/2 to make a nice creamy base.

IMG_9157

I added the cream portion to the mushrooms and let cook for awhile on medium-low. Note: I set aside just a bit of the sautéed mushrooms to add back into the mix later on during the process.

IMG_9161

Using my trusty blend-stick I blended the cream and mushroom soup, finally adding back in a bit of the sautéed mushrooms.

IMG_9168

And then the glorious moment of adding the green beans. I can’t tell you how good this smells.

IMG_9171

But wait! You didn’t think I’d wuss out on the crispy fried onions did you? Oh, hell no! I made these too, also Gluten Free! First I used a 1-to-1 all purpose gluten free flour mixing in some onion powder and fresh ground black pepper.

IMG_9176

I dipped the sliced onions into egg and then battered with the GF flour. I fried the onions in Canola oil–which worked well.

IMG_9179

I was actually surprised at how well the GF flour held up in the frying pan.

IMG_9186

I sprinkled with sea salt and voila… from-scratch green bean casserole.

IMG_9193

By now my kitchen was starting to get dark because I live in Boston and my house becomes like some sort of 16th century folk-tale cottage after 3PM.

IMG_9203

For my sweet potatoes, I decided to do something different. Instead of the usual brown sugar + pecans, etc., I made a pistachio butter. Pistachio butter? Yes, pistachio butter.

IMG_9209

In a food processor I blended pistachios, olive oil, Knob Creek smoked maple bourbon, pure maple syrup and a pinch of salt. OMG. Fucking amazing.

IMG_9210

I layered a baking dish with mashed sweet potatoes and topped with the pistachio butter and some chopped pistachios. Heavenly.

IMG_9214

By now, I’m already getting sleepy so it was time for some espresso.

IMG_9218

I really do think my mashed potatoes are the best. I’ve never really had better. I start by frying onions in fat from the turkey with some fresh thyme.

IMG_9220

I let everything caramelize.

IMG_9238

And then I add the sautéed goodness to the potatoes with parmesan, cream and salt and pepper.

IMG_9247

They are… simply, the best.

IMG_9250

And then, fresh cranberries. You can read my recipe here, but in short: fresh cranberries, grand mariner, brown sugar and fresh squeezed OJ. So easy.

IMG_9254

Finally, the turkey… which at this point… meh.

IMG_9291

IMG_9297

IMG_9298

And that was Thanksgiving 2014. And really, no matter how it’s photographed… this is an honest picture of Thanksgiving:

IMG_9314

A plate of beige food. It’s not pretty, but it’s pretty amazing.

You Might Also Like

No Comments

Leave a Reply